Sore Clemency (with Matisse)

[Tangerine]

The moody backroom of the local tavern was once again occupied by the town’s annual guest. A special visitor from the bright skies. Once every year, the kindly angel of mercy visited the small town of Mudbell to evaluate the crime and blessing of its residents. Elf, orc and human alike, the angel touched on their little wrongdoings. Mercy had a price, after all. And hand of the heavens could be both light and firm, capable of leaving a mark.

The stone building was in the centre of the town. It was spacious enough to host such meetings. No drinks would be served that day at the tavern. The angel could be considered an officer on duty. As always, she looked cheerful and good-humoured, and not very imposing, although she could be stern while granting clemency. Large green eyes, a snub nose and round cheekbones. And another pair of round cheeks on somewhere else. Her skin was pale since no amount of sunlight could give her a tan. Representing the brightness of the skies, a white open-shoulder tunic covered her form. White boots reached just below her knees. She certainly shone out in the dull tavern.

A cup of tea steamed hot on the wooden table at which Mercy sat in the room. Within the stone walls of the tavern, she awaited the last appointment of her divine shift. Mudbell was a small town with a small need of attention from the angel. Dealing with its small troubles wasn’t exactly tiresome.

“Alright!” Cheerful voice of Mercy travelled across the building. “Next!” Pink lips uttered with a smile. Curly honey blonde locks slightly twitched as she adjusted herself on her seat. “Don’t be shy.” Above widened lips, her bright eyes glanced through the open doorway.

[Matisse]

Elona was an elven female, in her twenties or so, though it was always difficult to tell the age of that long-lived race. She was a particularly tall and curvy elf, with a slim waist and large breasts, but not too much. Long very light brown hair, extremely smooth and slightly waved only towards the tips, fell disheveled over her shoulders, framing the little upturned nose and her eyes, deep green like a luxuriant forest.

Sighing, she slowly moved toward Mercy, keeping her eyes low. She wore a simple but refined blouse, leaf green, a pair of gold earrings that stood out particularly on the long ears, a common pair of fairly tight fire red pants and a pair of brown climbing boots that particularly clash with the rest of her attire.

"Hi." she said, shyly "My name is Elona."

She had her hands crossed behind her back, and was looking at her own shoes instead of the angel she was speaking to. She also had her knees pressed one against the other, in a clear sign of embarrassment.

[Tangerine]

From the looks of it, one could guess that the elf wasn’t coming from the poor part of the town. She was well dressed, and her form didn’t lack some rather noticeable curves. Almost in a slight contradiction to the slim stature one would often see among elven people. “Elona.” The angel repeated after her current client. “Yeah. I know. I know you all.” She added with a wink. The statement wasn’t entirely accurate, but she liked making them think that way. “Quit staring at your feet and take a seat please.” Pointing at one of the wooden chairs on the opposite side of the table, she continued.

With half squinted eyes, Mercy took a better look at the elf. Her timidity was pretty much impossible to miss. “Hmm… The face of guilt.” Pale fingers tapped on the table. However, a gleeful grin soon stretched her lips. “Oh, or are your just embarrassed to meet the most friendly and hardworking angel out there!” Apparently, not so modest though. Mercy let out a small chuckle. “Well, we’ll find out in a moment.” Her index finger twirled in the air. In a soft poof, a large book appeared in front of her. As a servant of heavens, Mercy had some abilities, that she was only allowed to use in accordance with the necessities of her job.

“Elona… Elona…” Slender fingers flipped silver pages. “There. Hmm… small trouble in the bakery… a funny incident at the lake…” The angel began to read the contents out. “Ooh!” An abrupt exclamation fixed her eyes on a certain paragraph. “What about this one?” She lifted her head from the book, eying the elf.

[Matisse]

Elona gasped a little when the angel called her name. Without raising her eyes, she placed her round derriere on the chair that Mercy pointed, knowing that she it would have been the last time she sat comfortably, at least for the rest of the day.

Once on the chair, she slowly raised her head, looking at the angel as she was flipping the pages of the book she materialized with a simple ginger movement. The elven girl didn't know if been more amazed or afraid of such a powerful entity. But somehow the deeply calm and cheerful aura that sprinkled from the divine herald, so beatiful and indeed friendly, despite not modest as one would expect from a heavenly servant, made her think that she had nothing to fear from her.

She had nothing to fear, but she couldn't help but to feel like a child in her precence. She nervously listened to her as she listed her minor misdeeds, the trouble in the bakery and the incident at the lake, and gulped deeply as the angel stopped at a certain paragraph: she knew all to well what was that about.

"Shoplifting." she whispered, in shame, lowering her eyes once again "I really wanted that necklace, but I hadn't the money to pay it at that moment. So I took it nonetheless."
She looked at the angel again, and added "But I paid for it the next time I went there."

The city guards never discovered her, but it was clear that the heaven force did. She made it look like a donation to the shop, but that despite having paid the right price that didn't help her to ease her conscience, not entirely at least.

[Tangerine]

To tell the truth, compared to some of the unpleasant cases she had to deal with from time to time, petty theft was not that big of a deal. The item in question being a necklace didn’t make it any better though. As an angel, Mercy had no use for coin or gold, but she was aware that it could be quite a distasteful situation for the shopkeeper depending on the value of the stolen item. Regardless, there was a crime.

“Hmm, confession is a good start!” The curly haired angel suggested, although the fact that it was already written there made it difficult to deny one’s crimes. “And I see things have been resolved, kinda.” One way or another, at least the shopkeeper had ended up getting the payment. On top of that, considering the situation, Elona might need to make a different kind of payment as well. Her mouth twisted as the angel gave it a thought. “You’d be surprised how many of these pages start with a simple shoplifting.” After all, her so-called services weren’t only about punishing a crime. She had to make sure such crimes never happened again.

“Elona!” The divine being abruptly called out. “The Angel of Mercy would grant you forgiveness.” Little dimples returned to the angel’s cheeks as she beamed. “Buut~” She continued. “I have some concerns about this situation also.” Soft fingers grabbed the teacup from the table as she took a sip of her tea. “Can you stand up for a moment? And maybe take a step back?”

[Matisse]

Elona pricked up her long and pointy ears, hoping for quick forgiveness as Mercy told that confession was a good start and that the thing had been kinda resolved. Maybe she could ease her conscience with a lecture, she would have been really lucky.

All of her hopes vanished as she said the thing about shoplifting. Elona thought she was right: she did something wrong, and if she hadn't faced consequences for her action she could have done worst things than that.

The elven girl face brightened a bit as the angel spoke about forgiveness. She rasied her head and thanked her with a smile, without speaking. She was about to do so, but the came the "but".

Looking at the angel with a puzzled look, she stood up as she was ordered and made a step back, not understanding what Mercy was about to do.

[Tangerine]

As her client fulfilled her simple request and stood up, the angel followed suit. White as soft clouds, a pair of large wings suddenly appeared behind her, arching up towards the ceiling. A single flap of them caused a gust of wind and sprang the angel up to her feet. With that, they folded back and vanished into thin air. However, this wasn’t exactly why she told Elona to get up.

“Oh, don’t lose your smile.” Mercy suggested as she observed the bewildered expression of the young elf. Drawing herself closer to the presumably regretful shoplifter, she looked at her up and down. “Mmm…” The colours red and purple tended to belong in the wardrobe of royalty. Or at least somewhat wealthy. “I see…” Elona had red trousers. No need to mention the gold ornaments on her pointy ears. “Uh-huh…” The angel was trying to understand if the elf’s crime was arbitrary, so to speak. In the end, she was able to pay for it too.

Nodding and examining, Mercy finally stood just before the tall elf. Like a little inspector, she squinted her eyes at her. “Your crime seems to come from a highhanded desire to me.” It certainly didn’t seem to be about despair. The angel lowered her gaze on Elona’s chest. She wouldn’t use the word modest to describe these assets.

“Don’t get me wrong, but you look fairly well fed.” The divine investigator claimed. She leaned to one side, throwing a glance at the elf’s well defined behind. “Yup, definitely. Healthy. I think.” Crossing her arms across her bust, the angel continued. “Sadly, I think you may repeat this certain crime in the future. Possibly.” Which, of course, meant she had to ensure she wouldn’t.

[Matisse]

Elona looked at Mercy with wide open eyes as the magnificent wings unfold in front of her. They were really a sight to behold. But of course that was just the beninning: instead of just standing up, the angel used her wings to raise herself on her feet, looking so graceful that Elona couldn't help but to feel like a child in Mercy's precence.

The young elf felt nervous under the angel's stare. She felt it on her skin, like if she was completely naked in front of the divine creature. She waited for her to finish her analysis, and confirmed everything mentally: yes, she did it out of whim, nothing more. It wasn't greed, nor need, she simply wanted the necklace in that exact moment instead of having the patience to come later with money. She was rich enouhg to buy it, because her family was realated (albeit really distant) with the elven royal line and so money had never been a problem for them.

When Mercy finished her considerations, Elona lowered her head, saying "I'm really sorry. No, I promise it won't happen again. You have to believe me..."
Her voice went lower and lower at every word, and she concluded her sentence with a tiny whisper.

[Tangerine]

Once a decision was made, and Mercy had made one, no amount of sweet talk could really change it. In this case, the little shoplifter would pay for her crime, in return for the angel’s mercy. She was a good listener though, giving an ear to what the elf had to say. Subtle nods from the angel followed Elona’s words. Although the elf’s regret seemed to be in earnest, that wouldn’t magically make her misdeed undone. Small or big, divine intervention was needed.

“I believe you.” The cheerful angel agreed, not doubting her client’s sincerity. “I like elves you know.” Mercy continued with a quick wink. “But, it wouldn’t be fair if I let you go without a slap on the wrist, yeah?” Her pink lips pouted as if she was about to give a divine kiss. Through them, chill air was forced out as Mercy blew towards the door. The breeze closed it shut in a little bang. Now that some level of privacy was provided, the angel could get to work.

“Now Elona…” Walking backwards, she leaned against the edge of the table. “We have some options when it comes to this particular wrongdoing.” She continued. “We have to find a fitting… hmm… solution that suits your…” Her inspective glances studied the alluring elf’s gifted frame another time. “Your qualifications.” Mercy concluded. Using her index finger, the angel pointed at the nearest chair. “Can you drag it to the middle of the room?” She asked, a good solution, or rather punishment, already in her mind.

[Matisse]

Elona listened carefully to what the angel had to say, and was relieved when she said she believed her, even if that wouldn't have meant avoid punishment.

The elf sighed in relief when Mercy used her magic to close the door. She was afraid she was going to give her a public punishment, but instead she seemed to value privacy. A good thing for her.

The elven lady took the chair as she was ordered. She knew one of Mercy's way to give punishment and forgiveness, even if she would have prefered avoid it.

She placed the chair in the middle of the room as required, and stood next to her with her eyes looking at the floor.

"Here, ma'am." she said, almost whispering.